Perceived age as a biomarker of ageing: a clinical methodology
- 22 April 2008
- journal article
- portrait
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Biogerontology
- Vol. 9 (5), 357-364
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-008-9141-y
Abstract
In a previous field-based study, how old one looks for one’s age (perceived age) was found to be predictive of mortality in elderly individuals. In conjunction, perceived age is of relevance and interest to the layperson. Here, a clinical methodology for generating perceived age as a biomarker of facial ageing is detailed. The methodology utilises facial photographs of subjects to present images to large numbers of age assessors who are primarily nationals of the country of study origin. In five observational studies in five different countries involving 874 female subjects it was found that subject age and assessor gender, nationality, age and ageing expertise had little effect on the perceived age data generated. However, increasing the numbers of age assessors up to 50 substantially increased the reproducibility of the mean perceived age for an image and a minimum of 10 assessors were required to give reproducible data. This methodology was also compared to a methodology that utilises passport-type photographs of subjects typically taken in field studies. Although the perceived age data from the two types of images were more similar to each other than to chronological age, there was a marked difference between the two sets of data. Therefore, to allow meaningful comparisons across perceived age studies, the same type of image should be used for the generation of perceived age. In conclusion, the methodology detailed here has demonstrated that perceived age can be a reproducible measure when large numbers of adult age assessors are used and can be utilised globally in studies to investigate facial ageing.Keywords
This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit:
- Prevalence and Prognostic Impact of Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease in Individuals With the Metabolic Syndrome and DiabetesDiabetes, 2007
- Visible skin color distribution plays a role in the perception of age, attractiveness, and health in female facesEvolution and Human Behavior, 2006
- Influence of environmental factors on facial ageingAge and Ageing, 2006
- “Looking Old for Your Age”: Genetics and MortalityEpidemiology, 2004
- Why do some people look older than they should?Heart, 2001
- Allostatic load as a marker of cumulative biological risk: MacArthur studies of successful agingProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2001
- Visual Estimation of Biological Age of Elderly Subjects: Good Interrater AgreementGerontology, 1999
- Perception of age in adult Caucasian male faces: computer graphic manipulation of shape and colour informationProceedings. Biological sciences, 1995
- Age, sunlight, and facial skin: A histologic and quantitative studyJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1991
- Assessment of Biological Age Using a Profile of Physical ParametersJournal of Gerontology, 1980